"As the White House doubles down on its attempt to pass legislation to fast track secret trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, their oft-repeated refrain about these deals' digital copyright enforcement provisions is that these policies would not alter U.S. law. ... But such claims are very misleading. Leaked texts have confirmed again and again that the TPP contains Hollywood's wish list of anti-user policies -- the result of years of lobbying and schmoozing with trade delegates." (02/25/15)

"Apple must pay a shell company $532.9 million because iTunes infringes upon three patents related to online patents [sic], a jury in East Texas ruled on Tuesday. The company in question, named Smartflash LLC, is also based in Texas and doesn't make or do anything besides file patent lawsuits, as an Apple spokesperson pointed out. 'Smartflash makes no products, has no employees, creates no jobs, has no U.S. presence, and is exploiting our patent system to seek royalties for technology Apple invented,' said Apple's Kristin Huguet ..." (02/25/15)

"We didn't know how much copyright maximalists longed for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement -- until we saw this creepy 'open love letter' to the TPP from one of the biggest, most powerful copyright lobby groups, the Global Intellectual Property Center. We couldn't have made this up if we tried. ... If you didn't know about the harms the TPP would do to our digital rights, this would look like the copyright industry writing an amusing blog post that just turned out strange. But if you think about how this massive secret deal is a long-term scheme to undermine democratic rules and rights we have as users, it comes across as just plain vulgar. This is Hollywood lobbyists playfully celebrating their cozy relationship with secret trade negotiations and the hold they have on our state officials." (02/23/15)

"EFF's client runs Bytephoto.com, which has hosted user-submitted photos and run competitions for the best since 2003. In 2007, a company called Garfum.com applied for a patent on the 'Method of Sharing Multi-Media Content Among Users in a Global Computer Network.' The patent, U.S. Pat. No. 8,209,618, takes the well-known concept of a competition by popular vote and applies it to the modern context of generic computer networks -- despite the fact that courts have ruled that this kind of abstract idea using generic computer technology cannot be patented. In September of last year, Garfum used this patent to accuse EFF's client of infringement, and filed suit. In the motion to dismiss the complaint, EFF argues that the patent should be declared invalid." (02/17/15)

"From Apple's cat-and-mouse race with jailbreaking phone buyers, to Amazon's move into 'exclusive' programming for its streaming service, to Netflix's region-blocking (enthusiastically supported by the Motion Picture Association of America, a powerful US IP lobby), to rampant user control schemes by console video game makers, DRM has a long record of enabling predatory behavior by politically privileged players in captive 'markets.' The enforcement of 'intellectual property' claims has become so extensive and intrusive that 'rights holders' feel increasingly free to interfere in production of content formerly considered fair use." (02/10/15)

"These songs didn't come out of thin air. I didn't just make them up out of whole cloth. Contrary to what Lou Levy said, there was a precedent. It all came out of traditional music: traditional folk music, traditional rock 'n' roll and traditional big-band swing orchestra music. I learned lyrics and how to write them from listening to folk songs. And I played them, and I met other people that played them back when nobody was doing it. Sang nothing but these folk songs, and they gave me the code for everything that’s fair game, that everything belongs to everyone." [hat tip -- Nick Gillespie] (02/07/15)

"It should be noted that although the U.S. ranks number one in the GIPC Index, the Property Rights Alliance ranked the U.S. 17th in its 2014 International Property Rights Index which aims to quantify the strength of both physical and intellectual property rights. IP protection is essential to developing innovative solutions and products in any sector, but perhaps even more so in health care." (02/06/15)

"New reports indicate that Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators have agreed to language that would bind its 12 signatory nations to extend copyright terms to match the United States' already excessive length of copyright. ... Negotiators have been made well aware that there is no economic rationale that can justify this extension. The fact that they have chosen to ignore what is a clear consensus among economists points to the fact that this agreement has not been driven by reason, but by the utter corruption of the process by lobbyists for multinational entertainment conglomerates, who have twisted what is notionally a trade negotiation into a special interest money-grab." (02/04/15)

"From phones to cars to refrigerators to farm equipment, software is helping our stuff work better and smarter. But those features come at a high hidden cost: the rapid erosion of ownership. Why does that matter? Because when it comes to digital products, owners have rights. Renters on the other hand, have only permission. The source of the problem is simple: copyright." (01/20/15)

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd can still benefit from patent protection for top-selling multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, dealing a blow to generic drugmakers looking to market a cheaper rival product. In a 7-2 vote, the justices sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for further review saying it had not used the correct approach in analyzing whether the patent, due to expire in September 2015, was valid. The appeals court had thrown out the patent in 2013." (01/20/15)

Anthony Wile interviews William J. Watkins Jr. Watkins: "When you look at our torts system, especially, there are significant problems. We have moved from a negligence regime where if someone breached a duty of care to another person then they could be held liable for the resulting damages for that breach. That's fairly basic, fairly straightforward. What we are seeing now is a move more toward the idea of strict liability. Of course, strict liability is most often associated with products liability cases but we see this whole concept permeating our legal culture." (01/18/15)

"You don't own the photons which have bounced off you you. Not even if someone else captures them digitally. Sorry if that upsets you. Yes, I understand if you are upset that someone took an 'upskirt' photo of you. He (or she) acted like a jerk. But you weren't touched in any way, nor were you coerced into changing anything you were doing. You have not been stolen from nor aggressed against. Call the photographer names if you want, but if you use (or threaten) force against him (or her) you are the one initiating force." (01/15/15)

"Normally when you buy a product that has a hidden defect, consumer protection law in your state or country comes to the rescue. For example, if you purchase a product -- say, a book -- it comes with an implicit promise that it will be fit for the ordinary purposes that books are used for, such as allowing you to read it, quote from it, lend it to others, summarize it on your blog, and donate or recycle it when you're done. If the book can't be used in these common-sense ways, and you weren't warned about that before handing over your money, consumer protection laws will generally give you the right to a remedy such as a refund of what you paid. There is no reason why digital products such as e-books should be treated any differently than physical products such as paper books in this regard. Yet in practice, they too often are, and the blame falls on DRM." (0/08/15)

"Toyota will be making more than 5,600 of its hydrogen fuel-cell technologies patents free to use for a large number of companies in the industry/sector -- absolutely no charges, including no royalty payments -- according to recent reports. ... Among the many patents being opened up are Toyota’s patents granted in the development of its first hydrogen vehicle -- the 2016 Toyota Mirai. Among the others are patents for software to control hydrogen fueling systems (~3350); patents for fuel stack technology (~1970); patents relating to high-pressure tanks for hydrogen fuel (~290); and patents relating to the production and supply of hydrogen-fuel (~70)." (01/08/15)

"You must comply with a new law that was just passed, but doing so means you are probably violating one of our patents. So you might as well pay up now. This is essentially what a demand letter sent by MyMedicalRecords, Inc., an electronic health records provider with numerous broad patents, could have said in its letter to a youth treatment center in Oakland. We received this letter on Trolling Effects in December 2013. It falls in the category of threats from patent holders who decide to go after companies for abiding by new rules or regulations -- doing so, they allege, infringes one or more of their patents." (01/07/15)

"When considering the government granted monopoly that is Copyright, it is important to keep in mind that the original reasoning and justification used for legislating Copyright in these United States, was to create a modern Library of Alexandria. Every ship that sailed into the port city of Alexandria, Egypt, was required to give up any books, maps, and the like, that were on board to the Library in order that they be copied (if the library didn't already have one). The books would be returned once copied, although it would be fun to know how many ships had the copies given to them instead. That was why the Library was so extensive and important. The absurdities of Copyright as it is enforced now violate every reason for having it at all." (01/07/15)

"At EFF, we think people ought to be able to understand how their devices work and repair them without asking permission of the manufacturer. We also think independent repair companies should to be able to compete with manufacturers in the aftermarket. Simply put, you should be able to fix your stuff or choose someone you trust to do it for you. The Ford Motor Company, however, takes a different view. It recently sued Autel, a manufacturer of third-party diagnostics for automobiles, for creating a diagnostic tool that includes a list of Ford car parts and their specifications. Ford claims that it owns a copyright on this list of parts, the 'FFData file,' and thus can keep competitors from including it in their diagnostic tools." (01/06/15)

"[I]magine you own a transportation company. You have a limited number of seats and you know that customers are willing to pay different amounts based on their sensitivity to cost. But you don't want seats to go empty, since every empty seat is a missed profit opportunity. So you implement a system where the more demand is up or supply is down, the more you charge. Or conversely, the more demand is down and supply is up, the less you charge. And then you file a patent application for your 'invention.' Because Uber did just that, Uber is being forewarned of its risk of receiving the Stupid Patent of the Month award." (12/29/14)

"A group led by Apple and Microsoft has sold about 4,000 technology patents to patent management company RPX Corp. for $900 million. ... RPX, which is based in San Francisco, formed a subsidiary to manage the [Nortel Networks] patents and [extort] payments from more than 30 companies, including Google." (12/23/14)

"A panel of eleven Ninth Circuit federal judges heard oral arguments yesterday in Garcia v. Google, a copyright case arising from the notorious 'Innocence of Muslims' video that was associated with violent protests around the world. The appellant, Cindy Lee Garcia, argues that she holds a copyright in her five-second performance in the video (a performance she says was tricked into giving), and is trying to use that claim to get the video pulled off the internet. To the shock of many, last February two Ninth Circuit judges agreed she might have a claim and ordered Google to remove the video from YouTube and prevent future uploads. Yesterday’s hearing revisited the facts and law that led to that decision." (12/16/14)

"After just a few hours of deliberation, a jury of eight men and women threw out a long-running lawsuit against Apple that sought more than a billion dollars in damages. ... The plaintiffs claimed that iTunes 7.0 included updates that were meant to push out Apple competitors like RealNetworks, which had a competing DRM system called 'Harmony.' After the 7.0 update, Real's competing DRM system wouldn't work with iPods. Plaintiffs' lawyers said that move violated competition laws, resulting in Apple dominating the market and resulting in overcharges for iPods. Apple countered that it was Real who should take responsibility for what was basically a hack of Apple DRM." (12/16/14)

"Days after The Pirate Bay was wiped from the Web, many believed that it was only a matter of time before a carbon copy of the website's database reappeared online. Thanks to The Pirate Bay's database of torrent links being freely available for download, it would only take another organization to upload the site's base and cater for traffic levels in order to resurrect the system. It seems the game of whack-a-mole with law enforcement is back on, thanks to Isohunt stepping into the breach. Isohunt, one of many torrent search websites blocked [sic] in countries including the United Kingdom, recreated a version of The Pirate Bay over the weekend." (12/15/14)

"For a long time I was very sceptical of the benefits of patents. For one thing, they seemed to interfere with other types of property -- Apple's patents over certain shapes for phones mean Google cannot use its factories, materials, etc. in certain ways. For another, I coincidentally had come across work suggesting their benefits are overstated, including Against Intellectual Monopoly (appropriately available in full online) by Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. But three recent papers exploiting a novel source of data have made me reconsider, since they throw cold water on one of the popular alternatives to patents: innovation prizes." (12/12/14)

"I’ve noted before the dearth of good arguments for intellectual property (There are No Good Arguments for Intellectual Property). In a recent Facebook post, I mentioned two weak/confused arguments used against IP arguments and claims." (12/09/14)

"Gizmodo reports that Swedish police raided the Pirate Bay, seizing its servers and shutting down its web site on December 9. My first reactions were irritation and even anger. But now I just feel like laughing. The state is an obsolete organization and becomes more and more so as it continuously tries to enforce the unenforceable." (12/11/14)